Target opening CVS pharmacies in stores is scary news for consumers

Over the next six to eight
months, all 1,660 of Target’s pharmacy locations will become
CVS-branded units. Additionally, the discount retailer’s 80
in-store health clinics will rebrand as CVS MinuteClinic
locations.

When CVS announced its $1.9
billion acquisition of Target’s pharmacy business in June, many
worried it couldset off a series of similar
partnershipsas cost
pressures hurt profits at grocery-store pharmacies. In October,
Walgreens and Rite Aid — the second- and third-largest pharmacy
chains in the US, after No. 1 CVS — announced a$9.4 billion merger.

Target and CVS maintain that the
change will simply increase convenience and accessibility for
consumers.

“Our heart is in every prescription we fill,
and providing accessible, supportive and personalized health care
is part of our DNA,” Helena Foulkes, the president of CVS
Pharmacy, wrote on
CVS Health’s website on Wednesday. “On behalf of all of us at
CVS Health, I am delighted to invite Target guests to experience
our innovative pharmacy care services and unique digital
offerings.”